On the scent of a gin

A Klein blue wellchiselled bottle with a silver arc for cap representing the water and sun in the Mediterranean is the centre of attraction at the Vault Festival held in the city earlier this month The bottle holds a unique gin 44deg N for which the makers have ditched traditional copper pots Instead it is distilled in a perfumeryturneddistillery Compte de Grasse on the French Riveira the worldrsquos fragrance capitalFounder Bhagath Reddy whose earlier stints involved luxury fashion retail and brand management takes us through a tasting The gin uses two types of junipersmdashtraditional and Cade local to the Mediterranean as well as 22 botanicals including alexanders orris rose from Cote de Provenance coriander jasmine grapefruit At 44 per cent ABV we get a floral bouquet of rose and jasmine On the palate a fruity tartness of lemon and grapefruit followed by spicier musky notes Throughout a floral comfort lingers The finish is long and flavourfulThe Distillery Compte de Grasse is situated in the fragrance capital of the world in Grasse FranceReddy inherited the passion for whisky from his father and grandfather ldquoThey taught me to appreciate fine spirits and I wanted to create a brand of super premium drinksrdquo he says So Reddy first created a liquortech company that leverages research and fragrance technology to disrupt traditional distillation methods and ageing techniques to create smallbatch luxury spiritsHe explains that age and tradition are the most significant entry markers in the luxury spirit environment ldquoAs a new startup one cannot wait 15 years for a spirit to age I began working backwards to bring in qualitative difference relying on technologyrdquo says Reddy This mindset led him to Grasse where he set up a distillery in a 19thcentury perfumeryldquoGo back 30 yearsmdashperfume and spirit industries were at par with each otherrdquo Reddy tells us ldquoEach used the technology of copper stills However the perfume industry pivoted in technology as they dealt with delicate botanicals and flowers that became increasingly expensive They relied on the science of extraction and distillation that was more qualitative than quantitative to get the best fragrances This is what appealed to me I wanted to find a way to tap into the huge expertise in Grasse so that I could be the Tesla of the drinks industry where I was transferring the tech used in perfumery into spirit flavour Oldschool connoisseurs may shun newage technology but young drinkers accept it Just like what happened with a Tesla The younger generation encouraged their parents and grandparents to give the electric car a shotrdquoThe process reengineersrsquo flavours using sound frequencies pushing the boundaries of flavour extraction in the alcobev industry ldquoBut soon enough I realised not everything that smells good tastes goodrdquo Reddy laughs adding ldquoFlavour molecules and aroma molecules behave differently In a fragrance you need to smell it it has to be volatile and evaporate For a spirit the flavour must linger and perform on the palate Focussing on extracting the middle level of molecules where flavour lies is the best strategyrdquo The extraction process uses highenergy ultrasonic sound waves as catalysts to create micro bubbles inside the unit that contains the botanicals mixed with French winter wheatbased ethanol These sound waves break the botanicals to extract the flavour molecules ldquoIn traditional ginrdquo Reddy explains ldquothere is a process called steeping which is resting the botanicals for a few hours to a day This step steals the batch of its nicer flavours Here in a capped process the extraction is completed within 30 minutes after which we pass the liquid through a cold vacuum distillation To floral botanicals heat is an enemy This tweak lowers the pressure in the system and the boiling point of alcohol drops from 70oC to 28oC Less energy is consumed in the sixhour processrdquoUntil now the gin was only available in Europe Australia Canada and Korea it launched in Gurugram and New Delhi last year The distillery also makes 06 Vodka Rose 2022 made by extracting flavours of a rose wine from Provenance now also available in Maharashtra ldquoWe extract the nose and front of the palate flavours from a Cocirctes de Provence roseacute and infuse it into vodkaAccording to Reddy the gin industry in India is going through a wave that hit Europe three years ago ldquoWithin that span Europe saw a rise of around 600 new gins Similarly closer home many brands are investing their time and effort to make gin and there is a market for allrdquo says Reddy who gives a thumbs up to adopting technology for production support ldquoAccelerating ageing is needed At any point the amount of spirit ageing in barrels is worth 100200 billion dollars Out of this two to six billion dollarsrsquo worth of product is lost to angelrsquos share apart from the carbon footprint of cutting trees for barrels Traditional practices are great wherever they bring value Accelerated ageing for bettering a product is welcome toordquo he signs off 44deg N is priced at R15500 in Maharashtra and available in all leading liquor storesBhagath ReddyThe gin is made in a 100litre capacity system and passed through a ultrasonic machine In the lab smaller equipment is used to identify the best temperature to extract the botanicals The lab is also used to develop recipes and then for quality control The gin has 22 botanicals procured in season Thirteen of these are used in natural dry stage The botanicals include rose de mai which is also used to make Dior perfume Helichrysum or immortal used by Lrsquooccitane for their hand creams alexanders orris rose from Cote de Provenance coriander among others The gin uses two types of junipers ndash traditional and Cade local to the Mediterranean